Haswell Highlights: 6 New And Noteworthy Gaming Laptops

Intel's 4th-generation processor is here, and laptop manufactures around the globe have been assaulting inboxes with press releases and impressive specs. MSI's GT70 was first to launch, but the powerful combination of Haswell and NVIDIA's new 700M series of mobile GPUs is proliferating quickly, allowing thinner and lighter machines to debut at reasonable prices.

Rather than regurgitate each announcement, I waited a few days and have compiled 6 recently unveiled gaming laptops that stand out based on a few factors: price, aesthetics, and/or unique features.

You'd be forgiven for not associating Lenovo with gaming; I didn't until the alluring red accents of their IdeaPad Y500 keyboard caught my attention, with a reduced pricetag to match. Having purchased the Y500 for myself, I feel comfortable vouching for Lenovo's Y410p.

At the time of publication, $849 gets you a 14" display with 1600x900 resolution, Windows 8, a 4th-gen Core i7-4700MQ (the same one found in the recently reviewed MSI GT70), 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and an NVIDIA GeForce 750M with 2GB of GDDR5. While this particular model hasn't stepped up to NVIDIA's latest mobile GPU series, I have the same 750M in my Lenovo Y500, and it can deftly handle just about anything you throw at it with high-to-ultra settings.

Buying advice: This is one of the best budget gaming laptops available. You can snag this model for $799, but it only comes with a 1366x768 display. Spend the extra $50 -- a 1600x900 on a 14" display looks sharp.

In my research, 14 inches seems to be the new sweet spot between performance and affordability. MAINGEAR is adding this size to their existing lineup with the Pulse 14, and it's a compelling option.

It's a larger chunk of change than the above Lenovo, but to be fair the Y410p's list price -- should the sale price ever disappear -- is $1299. The Pulse 14 also starts at $1299, but MAINGEAR's 14-incher is truly next-generation. A higher-tier Intel Core i7-4702MQ is at its heart, alongside the new NVIDIA GTX 760M which boasts 4GB of GDDR5 memory.

Again, 1600x900 is the preferred resolution, and storage duties are handled by Seagate's new Hybrid SSD (which I previewed here). Despite its small frame, the Pulse 14 can be equipped with dual mSATA SSD drives in RAID as well as a traditional 2.5" hard drive, thanks to the wise decision to omit an optical drive.

The real clincher for me has always been MAINGEAR's paint jobs, which elevate their laptops (and desktops) to great visual heights. If you're a fan of the Glasurit paint found on expensive supercars, you'll be pleased to know that MAINGEAR hand-paints the same stuff on this laptop.

On paper, the new Razer Blade is the hero device representing what's possible with the perfect union of Haswell and NVIDIA's new 700M series of GPUs. Yes, it's thinner than a dime -- but it's also thinner than a MacBook Air, despite packing the hardware necessary for serious gaming. While consumers and tech press will ultimately decide if its diminutive size and performance justifies the $1799 price tag, the fact remains that this is the thinnest gaming laptop in the world. And gamers are the eventual winner as more and more manufacturers follow Razer's lead.

Razer isn't the only company gunning for ultrathin gaming notebooks. Gigabyte recently announced their "Ultrablade," a machine only 5mm thicker than the new Blade at 21mm, and boasting a 15.6" full HD display. It also weighs less than 5 pounds, and when you see what it's packing both its size and weight become very notable features.

4th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor

2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M

Backlit keyboard, optional Thunderbolt, and Dolby sound

1080p IPS Display

It's also configurable with two 512GB mSATA SSDs, two 1TB hard drives, and an optical drive that can be swapped out for another drive. Yep, that's a total of 5 storage solutions in a 21mm thin, 4.76 pound notebook.

Beyond that, the P35K will ship with two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and VGA out, Ethernet, and an SD card reader. Will Razer have some serious competition on their hands? Possibly, but we don't have a price yet.

Now we move into the category of insanely powerful desktop replacements with the Clevo P375SM from AVADirect.com.

"Since the release of Clevo's P570WM, end-users have become accustomed to receiving desktop-grade performance in a mobile platform. A downside to a desktop replacement solution is mainly attributed to the power consumption and battery life," AVADirect explained. Haswell, in part, addresses the hoggish power consumption associated with beasts like this (at least when gaming isn't happening).

The baseline configuration begins at about $1995, and includes a 17.3" Full HD glossy or matte LCD and a 4th-generation Intel Core i7-4700MQ. Thunderbolt ports, backlit keyboard and touchpad, Onkyo speakers, and 7.1 surround sound output come standard. What it's actually capable of is limitless, depending on your budget.

Here's another system I'd feel confident calling a desktop replacement. When I reviewed MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition, many of you expressed distaste over the flashy design despite its record-breaking performance. Here's your perfect alternative.

The PowerPro R 6:8 from PowerNotebooks.com takes all the features of the GT70 and wraps it in a conservative shell. Completely stealth branding, no logo, a better warranty package, and a SteelSeries keyboard backlit with a classy blue instead of the rainbow of colors on MSI's GT70. The best difference, in my opinion, is that PowerNotebooks strips away all the bloatware, and gives customers their choice of Windows 7 or Windows 8 -- or simply no OS.

If you were enamored with the sheer power of the MSI GT70 but taken aback by its bold design choices, consider the PowerPro R 6:8.

Finally, there's one feature missing from all of the above machines: touch. Gaming notebook manufacturers, if you're reading this, it's OK to grace us with touchscreens now, at least if you're installing Windows 8.

Since 2005 I've been entrenched in the video game and consumer tech industries, and fascinated with the rapid evolution of the technology surrounding them. In addition to Forbes, I've contributed to gaming and technology features on PCWorld and Computer Shopper.